Consanguineous
by strawberryfields841
Summary: Harry and Petunia thought that they were done with each other forever. However, a strange event will remind them both that they cannot escape either side of the Evans family. Meanwhile, Teddy tries to find his purpose and Rose gets too close to the enemy.
1. Death in the Family

Hello, everyone! I am new to the world of Harry Potter fan fiction. I have written before but never in this fandom so I very much hope you enjoy it. It's very different for me, so it's just the challenge I need at the moment. I very much hope you enjoy it! Please review to let me know if I should keep going.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter One**

**Death in the Family**

Was it a sin to feel little to no remorse while your husband lay on his deathbed? Petunia Dursely had been deluding herself with the sentiment that her indifference to this situation was due to her shock. Yet, now, as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight and she sat stilly in a waiting room at St. Bart's she began let the delusion cease. She wasn't in shock. Vernon Dursley dying of a heart attack was hardly shocking. She had been expecting it since the day her parents died.

It was then that she started looking at everyone in her life according to what would ultimately bring about their demise – major accidents withstanding of course. Vernon she knew would go to heart disease. Dudley was probably the same. Dudley would probably suffer the same fate as his father. She _knew _her barmy sister and her dead-beat husband would end up getting themselves murdered somehow. As well as their childhood friend Severus who would go the same way…or end up killing himself, probably. And Harry…well….Harry would probably go the same way as his parents' as well. In her opinion it was remarkable that he had lasted this long. Everyone in that world seemed to have a violent end.

She was always right. And not just about death. Petunia was right about everything. She was right about the fact that settling for Vernon Dursley would bring her years of unhappiness and turmoil. She was right that Dudley's marriage to Jane Campbell would end in a miserable and bloody divorce. She was right about the fact that Vernon would always value his reputation more than her. She was right about the fact that no matter how hard she tried to hate her, she would never stop loving her little sister.

She didn't allow herself to get philosophical very often. But, truth be told, if you aren't allowed to get philosophical while your husband was down the hall dying then when were you? There was no better time to think about sin really.

It couldn't be a sin not to love your husband. After all, if it were a sin to divorce _and _to hate your husband then most women would be caught in an anomaly. She didn't like to think that God was that vindictive – if there even _was _a God. If there was one thing she learned from having Lily as a sister it was the fact that normal human beings don't even have the _slightest _grasp on what is reality and what isn't. Her days as a naive little Catholic girl died the day she went _wand _shopping with her mother and sister.

To make a long story short Petunia didn't know what to believe anymore. She tended to believe in what was right in front of her face and nothing else. Perhaps that was why she treated Harry the way she did. If she made him into an insignificant speck he might stay that way forever and not go gallivanting off to get himself killed like his mother.

She was also right in knowing that would never really work. He had somehow managed to keep himself alive but it was only a matter of time before he died, considering it was now his profession to be some kind of magical James Bond, of which she _thoroughly _disapproved. Yet, she couldn't think of a time when she ever _did _approve of a decision her pigeon-headed nephew made. Dudley would show her his blasted moving Christmas card every year and force her to read his letter. She had to pretend to care, although, pretending wasn't that hard really. It would be a lie to say she wasn't curious about what he had managed to do with his life.

He somehow managed to snag himself a very beautiful wife, yet, with his reputation in that world and the amount of money his spoiled father had to his name it wasn't such a surprise. He'd had three relatively attractive children, but compared to her Duddy's babies they looked like goblins of course. His career was rather respectable. She imagined he would have the respect that any constable would have, yet the respect didn't make it any less _stupid._ In a nutshell she would have to say that he has done somewhat well for himself. Considering she thought he would probably be dead by now that was really saying something.

She didn't know why she was suddenly occupying her mind with thoughts of Harry. Perhaps it was because death always reminded her of her family, as she had lost most of them already. Harry was the last connection she had to the Evans family. Truth be told she missed her mother and father far more than she would probably ever miss Vernon. Harry had her father's eyes. She would think of him every time he looked at her. He was more of an Evan's than Dudley ever was. He was quiet, kind, and courageous. Dudley was a Dursely through and through. He didn't remind her of her family in the least.

The last time she was in this hospital was they day of her parents "accident." She was sitting in the same seat she was now. However, instead of staring at an old woman trying to knit her troubles away she had been staring at her pregnant sister weeping in the arms of James Potter. She was glaring at them. Firstly, because it was their fault her parents were dying. Secondly, she was six months pregnantandthey and had only been married for three. And lastly, because she honestly couldn't think of anyone she hated more than James Potter.

He was the most stuck-up, spoiled, arrogant, toe-rag she had ever met in her life. There was once a point when her sister realized that as well, but Lily seemed to get stupider with age. He had also managed to pass on every single negative quality he had to her bloody nephew she had to put up with it for sixteen years. If it weren't for some of Lily's more gracious qualities she probably would have killed the brat. Yet, every time she ever got close to striking him she would remember a moment when he was three of four years old when she had been crying after a fight with Vernon. Harry came up to her and gave her a tight hug around the knee. That moment and the day she said goodbye to him for the last time were the only two moments where she honestly could say he made her feel something a kin to love stir within her.

"Mrs. Dursley?" She looked up, her vision slightly blurred from starting off into space for so long. As her eyes focused they came to land on a doctor with a receding hairline and glasses that were falling down his nose. She stood and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry there was nothing we could do."

She nodded. "Yes, thank you, doctor."

* * *

"Do you have a headache?" Ginny Potter asked her husband as she walked into the kitchen with a laundry basket on her hip to see him rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Harry grunted a response and started making a mess of the counter, picking up vials and bottles and placing them all over.

Ginny sighed at the mess, knowing that he would leave it there for her to have to clean the moment she finished the bloody laundry. "If we don't have any pepperup potion you could always run to that muggle drug store down the road and pick up some aspirin."

Harry gave up his search with an overdramatic sigh. "It's okay I've had the headache for seventeen years."

Ginny dropped the basket to the floor. "What's he done now?"

"He's run his Nimbus 3000 into a tree."

"He got that _yesterday!_"

"Because he was snogging April Boot mid-flight."

"How is that even _possible_?!"

"Apparently it's not, hence the broken broom _and _the broken girlfriend. She's broken her arm, has a black eye, and is concussed. To make matters even worse Terry was so livid that I ended up offering to pay her hospital bill because I was afraid he would kill James – or worse sue us."

"Oh bloody hell, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, waving her off. "At least she's not pregnant."

The next thing he knew he had a finger in his face. "Don't you even joke about that. The next thing you know it will come true," Ginny said. "Are you hiding any laundry anywhere? Because if I find anything else I have to wash later tonight I will burn it."

"Should all be in there."

"Oh! The post came earlier. You have a letter from Dudley."

"Is it my birthday already? Please say yes, that means I only have to live with our children for another month."

"You have a ways to go I'm afraid. It's still May."

"I wonder what he wants," Harry said as he walked over to the pile of mail sitting on the kitchen table. He found the letter written in his cousin's familiar handwriting and opened it. He was admittedly a little nervous. Dudley rarely wrote to him except for the occasional birthday or Christmas card so he knew whatever was in this letter was probably rather important. The last time he had written was to tell him that his wife had left him and taken his kids with her. That was the first time he had ever gone out to get a drink with his cousin since…well… just ever really.

Ginny made her way to the laundry nook next to the kitchen and began sorting through the pile of clothes, all the while keeping an eye on her husband as he read through his cousin's letter. As his mouth dropped open ever so slightly, she raised her eyebrows.

"Is everything all right?" She asked.

Harry placed the letter on the table and removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "My Uncle Vernon's dead. Heart Attack"

"Oh," Ginny said, awkwardly, not knowing quite what to say at the moment. Was it appropriate to offer condolences for the man that had emotionally abused her husband?

"The funeral is tomorrow."

"Do you want to go?" Ginny asked. Harry turned around to look at his wife. Ginny stopped sorting through the laundry and watched his face contort in a flurry of different emotion.

"I don't know."

"Dad!" James exclaimed as he burst through the backdoor carrying a stack of about fifty photos of his father. "I figured out how I can make enough money to by another Nimbus 3000. I just need you to sign -"

"Not now, James." Harry said tiredly.

"But you haven't let me explain -"

"I said not now!" Harry yelled.

James backed off. "Jeez. I'm sorry. I'll just go up to my room then."

"Bring your dirty laundry down please! And tell your brother and sister too!" Ginny yelled after him. "I should just make him do it all."

Harry sat down at the kitchen table and started drumming his fingers anxiously. Ginny signed and walked over to him, hugging him around the shoulders.

"Harry, if you want to go, we'll go. I'll cancel lunch with Mum. She'll understand."

"I _don't _want to go, Gin. That's the problem. I _should_. The man fed and clothed me for ten years of my life."

Ginny scoffed. "Barely."

"Dudley obviously wants me to be there. I should at least make an appearance for his sake. I just _don't _want to go. I feel like a petulant child."

"You're not a petulant child, Harry Potter. He abused you! No one will think ill of you if you don't go. I'm sure Dudley will understand."

"I'll think ill of myself, Gin. If I got through Snape's funeral I can get through this one."

"It's not quite the same, Harry," Ginny said quietly, not wanted to push any of her hotheaded husband's buttons at this particular moment in time. Though, she couldn't write off the truth. Severus Snape, while harsh and sometimes vicious toward Harry, was ultimately a good man who was looking out for his wellbeing in the end. Vernon Dursley was hateful bastard, point blank.

Harry's eyebrows set in a determined state and he nodded his head three times. Now, having been married to the man for twenty years she already knew what he was going to say without him saying it and she immediately began rummaging through her head to think if she had anything appropriate in her closet to wear to a muggle funeral.

"We're going. It's tomorrow at noon."

Ginny sighed as Harry made his way to the living room. "I'll have to see if that black dress still fits me…" She murmured under her breath.

"And when James gets back down here tell him he's grounded, and that I'm not signing autographs to fund his mistakes!"

Luckily, by the time James did make it back downstairs with Lily and Albus in tow, Harry had already left the room. Ginny had to speculate that if Harry was around to witness the look of sheer umbrage on James' face he would have thrown a fit.

"What's climbed up Dad's arse?" He sneered as he and his siblings dropped their clothes on the floor next to their mother's. Ginny used the shirt she had in her hand to wack him across the head. While James stood there rubbing his hair back in place Ginny took a stance that if Harry saw, he would make fun of her for looking so much like her own mother. With one hand on her hip and the other finger in her eldest son's face she pounced on him like an angry cat.

"What's climbed up your father's _arse _is that he's just gotten a letter saying his Uncle's _died _after spending all day cleaning up after your bloody mess - which, by the way, you are grounded for. If I see you leave his house for anything _other _than your great-uncle's funeral tomorrow, I will personally break every broom you _ever _buy again and then maybe you'll know how it feels to have something that you've saved to buy broken carelessly within the first day of having it! Honestly you three act so spoiled sometimes you make me _sick_!"

"Wait, we have to go to the funeral?" Lily asked with a slight shriek of horror. "But we don't even _know _him! And from what I've heard he was horrible!"

"And I have plans tomorrow! Peter has tickets to the Puddlemere game. We've been planning it for weeks!" Albus yelled.

Ginny stared at her children in shock. "I find it truly unbelievable that I call you spoiled and instead of trying to defend yourselves you instead say something that _completely _supports it! Did it ever occur to you that sometimes being present at funerals isn't about the person who's died at all but rather about _supporting _the people there who have lost someone? Because let me tell you something if it weren't for Uncle Dudley your father would _not _be going. It's going to be very difficult for him to be there and if _any _of you says one thing to add to your father's discomfort I will teach you the true meaning of pain. Do you understand me?"

All three of her children offered a mumbled statement of complacency before marching back up the stairs. She heard the sound of a door slam a few seconds later and wondered for a brief moment which of them had done it. Albus was her bet. She had to admit she'd be upset if she were in his shoes as well. However, a Quiddich game was not more important than his father and when his emotions calmed he would probably come to realize it.

In the meantime, she was going to have to explain to her mother why they were even bothering to go to that horrible man's funeral instead of coming to The Burrow tomorrow. To say she wasn't looking forward to it was an understatement.

* * *

"They'd better have food at this place because I'm starving," James said from the backseat of the car as the Potter family pulled into the parking lot of St. Anne's Church in Little Whinging. Ginny unfastened her seatbelt and turned around to look at him.

"There may be food at the wake and if there is you'll wait to eat with everyone else. The last thing I need is for you to go gallivanting off acting like a pig in front of everyone."

James rolled his eyes and exited the car along with everyone there. Harry took a moment to fix his tie and looked over to see his thirteen-year-old daughter staring at the church in front of her in a sort of silent horror. He raised his eyebrow for a moment and placed a hand on her shoulder to move her along. Lily made a squeak and looked up at Harry in fear.

"Daddy, aren't witches supposed to be struck by lighting or something if they step foot inside a church?"

Harry laughed and pulled his daughter closer to him, squeezing her shoulder's in support. "No, Lilybug," he said. Lily relaxed with a sigh and took a willing step forward. Harry bent down to whisper in her hear. "They usually just catch fire."

Ginny chuckled and smacked him on the arm. "Stop it," she told her husband with a laugh. "Lily, your father's just being silly. Ignore him."

"Yeah, Lils," James said, waltzing up to her and pushing her up the concrete stairs. "And you can show us all by going in first!"

"James, stop it!" Ginny tried to scold, however with the amusement still evident in her voice it didn't come out quite as threatening as she would have liked. She turned her head to the left to see Albus kicking his feet on the pavement with his hands buried in his pockets and his head hanging low. Ginny imagined that she would probably be getting a sulky silent treatment all day. Her youngest son seemed to forget that she came from a family of seven brothers and if he wanted her to play that game she would _play _that game.

As the walked into the church vestibule Harry took a cautionary look around, hoping to avoid anyone that he might actually know. To be honest the only person he was here to see was Dudley, and if he could keep it that way the day would be a success. As he guided his family into the chapel, he laughed as he caught sight of Lily starting cautiously at the holy water.

"Don't do it," James said. "If it touches your skin it will start to burn and bubble and eventually it will just melt right off your face. That's what happened to Professor Longbottom, you know."

Harry's hand clenched onto his son's shoulder of his own accord. "Don't you ever joke about that again," he growled. "If it weren't for Neville Longbottom and the burn on his face you probably wouldn't be _alive. _Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," James said solemnly. Once Harry was happy with the genuine look of shame on his son's face he turned his attention to Lily.

"Lily there is nothing to be afraid of. All that stuff about witches and churches is just old muggle folklore."

He pushed her forward lightly again and found a seat on a row of pews in the back of the church and everyone filed in. A woman in a black dress and a horrid hat with what looked to be a dead raven on top scooted over to accommodate them and Harry had to give James a stern look to warn him off saying a word. As soon as the sat down Albus immediately crossed his arms over his chest, propped his feet up on the kneeler attached to the back of the pew in front of them, and stared out the stained glass window to let it be clear to everyone that he was not happy to be there just incase they weren't one hundred percent sure already.

"Now this is a religious service," Harry warned his children. "That means you are to be as _silent _as the grave."

"Nice pun, Dad," James said. Harry gave him an unamused look and the woman next to them started at James in shock.

"It is also _not _the time for jokes," he said. "Please just be respectful for one day."

Albus scoffed and Harry was suddenly overcome with exasperation toward his attitude. He had been acting like a little git all day. "And keep in mind that there is more than _one _game to be missed….such as….every single game played while you are still living in _my _house." Harry's threat didn't seem to help as it really just pissed off Albus even more.

Lily, meanwhile, was looking around in awe at the stained glass windows, arches, statues, and candles spread out across stony gothic church. "Daddy, this place is like a mini Hogwarts."

"That it is, Lilybug," he agreed with a smile. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He saw Albus rolled his eyes at his little sister, knowing better than anyone sitting on that pew that she wasn't as cute and innocent as she seemed. His dad seemed to think that Lily was still five.

As Harry made too look around the church himself, he caught eyes with a large sullen woman glaring at him from the front of the church. His eyes went white and his heart starting pounding as if he had lay eyes on Voldemort once again. Ginny noticed the look on his face and followed his gaze in confusion. Seeing why he was upset, she reached over and squeezed his hand, offering him a small smile. The hateful woman didn't take her eyes off of Harry until the service had begun.

* * *

It had taken until they had walked into Number 4 Privet Drive for James to _finally _find some food. At that point in time, hunger was no longer a word that could accurately describe the feeling in his stomach. It felt like his entire insides were shriveling up with every second that passed and if he didn't eat something soon his stomach would just disintegrate.

He made his way to the buffet set up in the horrid pink flowery living room with pictures of a really fat kid that he couldn't really _believe _was his Uncle Dudley. He hadn't seen Dudley that many times in his like but he had seen him enough to be surprised that he ever used to look like that. Dudley was big now, but James wouldn't describe him as fat. Although, if the food tasted half as good as it smelled it was no wonder he used to be fat. He filled his plate up with chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and some figgy pudding, and looking around for his father, he slipped a Guinness out of the cooler on the floor. By the time he had stood up and turned around his father was standing right in front of him.

"Thanks for that," Harry said, swiping the beer away from his son and twisting the bottle open for himself.

"That was mine," James whined.

"You're not drinking in my Aunt's house. I don't need her to rail into me about my lack of parenting skills on top of everything else."

James quirked an eyebrow. "What else?"

"Oh, she'll think of something," Harry said as he looked around the room. Seeing that there was no one he knew around he chugged the beer as fast as he could, positioning himself so that James was hiding him. James watched his father in shock with his mouth hanging open.

"Dad, I've never seen you so - "

"So you _did _turn out to be a drunk I see," a shrill voice interrupted. Harry turned around slowly and came face to face with the same woman who, during the times she wasn't wailing in despair, spent every moment of the funeral glaring at Harry.

"Hello, Aunt Marge," he said, ignoring the comment completely. "You're looking lovely. Have you changed your hair?" The look on Marge's face contorted in to what had to have been the ugliest thing James Potter had ever seen. He stood there starting at her with his mouth hanging open in horror.

"I see you haven't changed at all, _Potter_. You're still just as smart and ungrateful as you always were," She sneered. She then moved her attention over to the tall gangly ginger boy standing next to Harry. "Close your mouth boy. I'm not at the zoo. I don't wish to watch an animal."

For some reason James found himself snapping his mouth shut. Over Marge's shoulder he saw his mother begin to push through the crowd, racing toward the scene with a look of determination on her face. He would leave, but seeing his mother and this bitch battle it out in a room full of pink flowers and lace would be too damn funny to miss.

Ginny linked her arm through Harry's and plastered what had to be the _scariest _smile James had ever seen on her face. "Hello," she said, stretching out her hand. "I'm Ginny Potter, Harry's wife.." Marge turned up her lip and begrudgingly accepted the hand offered to her. "You must be Harry's Aunt Large. I've heard so much about you."

Marge was aghast. "I _beg _your pardon!"

"I'm sorry. Did I mumble? I said you must be Harry's Aunt Marge. I've heard so much about you. I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

"Yes well…" Marge said, taken aback by the woman in front of her. Harry biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing. Marge cleared her throat. "It's good to see that Potter's found _someone _crazy enough to marry him."

Ginny just giggled and continued to pretend to be making small talk. "Well I had to marry _someone _I suppose. Of course all his family's money didn't hurt."

"You have money, Potter? I thought your father was an unemployed bum."

"I think he might have stole it," Ginny said. "Isn't that right, Darling?"

"I believe that's right, Dear," Harry answered.

Ginny giggled again. "Oh well. It's not our problem I suppose. We just get to spend it. Oh what a beautiful necklace!"

James almost laughed as his mother delicately lifted the ugliest necklace he had ever seen off Marge's neck and began looking over it.

"Thank you…" Marge stuttered.

Ginny offered her a brilliant smile. "Well, if you'll excuse us, I think we are going to make the rounds."

His parents moved and James was left there with Marge as he shoveled more mashed potatoes into his mouth. His Dad could say what he wanted about his Aunt Petunia but man she could cook. Marge looked at him in disgust before walking off in a huff.

Since his parents were currently talking with Dudley's ex-wife and they were suitably distracting, he went back to the cooler and found another Guinness before sitting down on the couch to better inhale his food. He set his plate on his knee and loosened his tie slightly in an effort to get more comfortable. He was just about to dig into his figgy pudding when his sister came speeding over to him.

"James!" She exclaimed. He sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes.

"What the _fuck _do you want now?"

"There is a really creepy man outside. He kept watching Mum and Daddy when they were talking to that woman. I saw him at the church too. He was sitting there all by himself and he kept starting at me."

James was disgusted. "He's probably just a pervert, Lily. Just stay away from him."

"I don't think that's it, James. He looks really scary. Like he's up to something."

"And why do you think that?"

"Because he's all by himself. Uncle Dudley didn't even know who he was. And he's wearing all black."

James sighed. "It's a funeral, Lily. Everyone is wearing all black. And I don't know all Dad's friends either but I don't get suspicious every time I see someone talking to him. Can't you go bother Al? I'm trying to eat."

"Al is in the basement with Melissa. They kicked me out."

James cringed. "They weren't like snogging or anything right? Cause that's disgusting. We're related to her."

"Ew no!" Lily exclaimed. "They were just complaining together. I didn't really mind leaving to be honest."

James let out the largest sigh he had ever made in his life, placed his plate on the end table, and stood up. "Fine, show me the creepy man."

Lily grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him to the back door, pushing him through they stepped outside and she looked around the group of people but she couldn't find him.

"Well?" James asked. Lily bit her lip.

"He's not here."

"Jeez, Lily, I thought you were passed making up random shit to get attention."

"I swear he was here! I'm not lying, James!"

"Whatever." James rolled his eyes and walked back inside. Defeated, Lily made her way to the bathroom and James made his way back to his food. Fate seemed to hate him, however, because as he stepped back into the living room he was suddenly stopped by his ex-aunt and his parents.

"This is him," Ginny said, grabbing hold of his arm. James stared at the plate sitting on the table across the room and wanted to cry.

"No!" Jane Campbell (once Dursley) gasped as Ginny pulled her son even closer. "That _can't _be little Jamie. He's so handsome! He's almost taller than you, Harry."

"He's getting there," Harry said proudly.

"I'd be getting there faster if I was getting proper nutrition," James mumbled.

Ginny rolled her eyes and let him go, pushing him lightly away. "Go on. Eat your dinner then," she said with a laugh.

"I'm trying to remember the last time I saw them," Jane said. "It must have been around Christmas the year that Dudley and I split. Goodness, that was more than seven years ago, wasn't it? I would probably just _die _if I saw Lily."

"I die a little every time I see Lily and she lives with me," Harry said, shaking his head.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry is upset because his baby girl is growing breasts."

Jane laughed. "Well it happens to all of them eventually."

"Jane, have you seen Dudley?" Harry asked, looking around for his cousin.

"I've been avoiding him to be honest. I really just came to drop off the kids. But when I saw you and Ginny I just had to catch up."

Harry smiled. "Well, I hope you don't mind but I think I'm going to go try and find him."

"Of course not," Jane said with a smile. "I hope you don't mind if I keep your wife captive, though."

"Not at all," he said, smiling as the women moved closer together for a moment of girl talk.

He had finally caught sight of Dudley, shaking hands with a man who Harry assumed was a business associate of his Uncle Vernon. He took a deep breath and began to make his way over to him when suddenly a blood-curdling scream of horror quieted the entire house.

Immediately, his auror instincts kicked into action and he ran in the direction of the scream. Everyone followed him and huddled around the scene of the incident. When he arrived to the hall bathroom, the first thing he saw was his aunt standing in the doorway in horror. It had been the first time he had seen her all day, but he was too filled with concern to even care. The next thing he saw, which concerned him even more, was his daughter frozen in terror, standing a few feet away from his Aunt.

"Lily?" At the sound of her father's voice, Lily broke from her stupor and ran over to him. Harry wrapped an arm around her in comfort. "What happened?"

"I…." she said. "I dunno…"

He let go of his daughter and moved closer to his aunt. "Aunt Petunia?" he asked. She moved, looked at him in shock for a moment, and cleared the doorway so that he could see what had happened. When he entered he couldn't believe what he saw. A large woman lay on the stone cold tile floor, unmoving.

Marge Dursley was dead.

**TBC…**

* * *

Okay, that is the first chapter of my first Harry Potter fic. Please review and let me know if it's any good!


	2. Life's Lemons

Hello everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and altered! It meant a lot. Sorry this chapter took a while to get out. The beginning of the semester is upon me. With this chapter comes the introduction of one of my main original characters. Now, I am not usually a fan of a lot of original characters but as this takes place in the future I don't think I have much of a choice. However, I promise that every character I create will be just as developed and fun to read as the ones you already love…at least I hope they are. Lol. Anyway, thanks again! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter

**Chapter Two**

**Life's Lemons **

Theodore Remus Lupin was pretty sure this wasn't what he had signed up for when he decided to become an auror. After working his arse off at Hogwarts for years, giving up any semblance of a social life, and going through years of intense training, he found himself working as an office boy doing bitch work for all the old wizards who weren't half as competent, quick, and agile as he was at the young age of twenty four.

"Oi, Lupin!" He heard a shout as he walked past a cubicle and tripped over a stack of paper work on the floor. "Watch where you're going, for Merlin's sake!"

"Sorry…" he said sheepishly. Alright so maybe agile wasn't the best word to use to describe him. Still he was in much better shape than half of the field workers they had here. He was pretty sure that he was older than his mother was when she was out in the field. Though the rational side of his head told him that they were in a war then.

Plus he had a sneaking suspicion that one of the main reasons he wasn't out fighting crime was because his boss just happened to be his godfather. For someone who battled the worst dark wizard in history at seventeen he sure was reluctant to let his twenty-four year old godson go out and catch someone trying to rob Weasley's WIzarding Wheezes.

So here he was, running around the ministry, filing paper work, escorting vandalizing little brats around the premises, flooing their parents, taking fines, and of course fetching tea and coffee. Because the interns they hired over the summer from Hogwarts couldn't even handle the simplest of tasks. And the little Slytherin bastards had never seen a coffee maker in their lives.

Truth be told he was just in a pissy mood. He blamed everyone around him for everything that was going on in his life because he was in a pissy mood. And he blamed his father for _being _in a pissy mood. He was like a goddamn woman. Once a month he just became horribly angry and irrational. And although he should be thankful he wasn't running around in the woods howling, it was still an annoyance he had to live with.

As he turned the corner he ran right into the cubicle he had been looking for. Lucy Lemon was a fellow auror who had gone to Hogwarts with him and gone through training with him. She was also the sole reason that he _knew _that Harry was deliberately keeping him out of the field because she had been on the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol Squad for a year and he was still stuck here.

"Hey there, Lucy Lemon." He said, with a smile as he leaned over and put his elbows on her desk. She gasped and looked up at him in surprise before stuffing what looked to be a copy of The Daily Prophet under her desk.

"Teddy, hi!" She squeaked, before combing her fingers through her hair and tucking it behind her ears. Teddy didn't know how she functioned as an auror to be completely honest. She was always so nervous and fidgety but he supposed it was kind of endearing. Plus, she was a complete and total mess. Her hair was a ball of frizz. Her glasses were way too thick for her face. She dressed kind of like a guy, and he had a sneaking suspicion that she might be a lesbian. If it weren't for the fact that she had a boyfriend a few years back he would be completely sold on that.

"What are you hiding there?" he asked, reaching under her desk and pulling out the paper that she was trying and failing to hide.

"Oh, Teddy, don't…" she said as she tried to grab the paper back from him.

"Engagement announcements?" he asked. "You got a fiancé you've been hiding all this time, Lemon?"

"No…" she said, biting her lip as Teddy's eyes roved over the paper. When the smirk vanished from his face and a look like death came upon it Lucy knew he had seen what she had been trying to hide from him.

"I'm sorry…" she said. "I was trying to keep it from you."

There seemed to be some kind of vice on his vocal chord as he tried to formulate a response. The words just wouldn't come out. Every lobe on his brain was working to process the information he had just read in the prophet. He folded up the paper and handed it back to Lucy who had a genuine look of pity on her face. For some reason it pissed him off even more. Damn the full moon.

"Don't worry about it, Lemon," he said stiffly. "It's no big deal. I just came over here to let you know that you need to sign these so I can get them to Ron."

"Right. Thanks," she said. She took the papers and signed straight away. Teddy took the time to look around her cubicle.

Lucy was a muggleborn and it showed. Her desk was full of muggle office supplies that Teddy remembered her parents gifting her with when she first got the job. He wondered if she ever really used any of them, and if she didn't it was really sweet of her to keep them here anyway. She was one of the few employees that had a muggle laptop. Her's was red and had a little apple with a bite out of it on the front. Teddy had never had one but he had always found them kind of fun to play with. There was also an Abbey Road poster on her wall, and as Teddy had always been a muggle music aficionado he had no doubts as to where her parents came up with her name.

"Done," she said sheepishly, pushing the stack of paperwork toward him.

"Thanks," he said, picking them up and tapping them on the desk to straighten them out.

"Listen, Teddy, I'm really sorry-"

"Don't be," he said. "I'm fine."

Without a look back he turned around and made his way to Ron's office. When he reached his destination he tapped on the door to make himself known but Ron was in the middle of a meeting with some guy with bright green robes on and the most ridiculous looking hat that Teddy had ever seen in his life. Ron looked happy to have the intrusion and he quickly closed the meeting, escorting the man up and out of his office and shaking his hand.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Lovegood, for bringing it to our attention. Harry and I will look into it immediately."

"Ah, I know you will, Mr. Weasley. Thank you for your time."

"You're quite welcome," Ron said. "Give Luna my love."

"I will, my boy!"

Teddy watched with interest as the eccentric man walked out of Ron's office and down the hall. Ron ushered him in and closed the door behind him, shaking his head in annoyance. Teddy stood there a bit awkwardly.

"What was that about?" he asked as Ron muttered to himself while going through some things on his desk. Ron looked up and rolled his eyes.

"Xenophilious Lovegood is under the impression that a group of renegade zarmpthas are breaking into his home at night and he would appreciate it if Harry and I would look into it."

"What's a zarmptha?"

Ron looked up at him and nodded. "Exactly, Teddy. Exactly."

Teddy just shrugged and walked over to Ron's desk, dropping the stack of papers in the appropriate pile. "Well what are you going to do about it?"

"What I do every time he comes in here with something like this. Call Rolf Scamander and tell him that his father-in-law is crazy. He'll take care of it."

"Alright then," Teddy said with a nod.

"I'm telling you, Teddy. If Harry ever comes to you and asks you to take a management job instead of staying in the field tell him that he is barmy and you just want to stay where you are. Dealing with these people is not worth the pay raise."

"Well he would have to put me in the field before he could do that."

"He hasn't put you on the squad yet?" Ron asked in amazement. Teddy just shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Typical. Listen don't worry about it. I'm in charge today. For the first time in my life I have some influence around here and you are going out on the next call we get. You're one of our most confident boys. You shouldn't be rotting away in here."

Teddy's jaw dropped to the floor and for a moment in time he almost forgot the heart wrenching news he had just read in the prophet. "A-Are you serious???"

"Of course I'm serious. What do you think I would joke about something like this?"

"But…Harry…"

"I'll deal with Harry. And if he gives you any trouble tell me about it and I'll take care of it."

Teddy exhaled a breathe of astonishment and leaped forward to grasp the man who had always been somewhat of an uncle to him in a tight hug. Ron grunted as he was suddenly body slammed by the young man and went stiff in surprise before returning the gesture with a pat on the boy's back.

"Thanks, Ron! I won't let you down I swear!"

"I know you won't, Teddy," he said with a slight lump in his throat. With his mother and father's genes in him it would be completely impossible for Teddy Lupin to ever let him down.

Teddy let go of Ron and the smile that took over half of his face suddenly fell flat as he looked upon the picture lying on Ron's desk. It was the same picture that had sliced a hole in his heart just a few minutes ago. It didn't seem like it was going to stop haunting him anytime soon.

Ron followed the young man's gaze in confusion due to his sudden change in demeanor. When he saw the picture Teddy was staring at his heart fell through his chest. He knew he should have hidden that thing.

"Aw, man. Teddy, I'm sorry. I was going to take that home but I…"

Teddy let out a forceful laugh. "Hey, don't apologize. I don't know why everyone here seems to think that they need to apologize. So what? Life happens. We've all just gotta move on. I'm _fine _with it."

"Ted…"

"I just remembered I have some more paper work to do. So….if you don't need me…I'll just be going. Thanks again, Ron! You're the greatest."

Teddy opened the door but Ron stopped him right before he was able to slip through. "Teddy…Vic wanted to tell you but…she didn't think it would be appropriate."

Teddy shrugged. "It's fine. She shouldn't have felt obligated to tell me. It's normal right? People…get married all the time. Good for her. Getting married. That's….that's great. I'm….I'm happy for her. I'll talk to you later."

Just as Teddy was about to slip through the door, Christian Davis barged into the office with a look of urgency on his face.

"Mr. Weasley," he said. "We've just got a call from Harry. He need the squad at Number 4 Privet Drive immediately. He also asked that you come too, sir."

Ron shook his head in surprise. "Uh…thanks, Christian." He turned to Teddy who looked quite astonished as well. "Well, Ted, are you ready for your first assignment?"

* * *

A half an hour had passed since Harry had first witnessed the corpse of his aunt lying on the bathroom floor. He had immediately taken out his auror badge that was charmed to look like a Scotland Yard badge in such instances as this. He used his expertise and authority to clear the premises so that the only people who remained were those who had claimed to see something, and his family – both the Durlsey's and the Potters. He was about to make a phone call to Scotland Yard in order to get the proper authorities involved with Lily had taken him aside.

She had come up to him shyly, with a look of pure horror and fear on her face. Her hands were shaking and she looked near tears. Harry got down on his knees in front of her and wrapped her in a hug when she had whispered that she had seen a green light shine from the crack in the door before hearing the thump of the body on the ground. It was then he knew he had to get the Department of Magical Law Enforcement involved, and that he realized that his daughter was about to become the key witness in a murder case.

When he heard a cluster of pops from the other room and a shriek from his aunt Petunia he knew that everyone had arrived. Ron stepped into the hallway first, looking around the scene with a practiced eye.

"What the bloody hell happened here? And why isn't Scotland Yard taking care of it?" Were the first words that popped out of the red head's mouth. Harry grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him off to the corner.

"Scotland Yard isn't taking care of it because it was a magical murder. Lily saw a green light and heard a thump. I need to you contact Kingsley and have him talk to the commissioner. I want to keep this hush hush and I don't want to go through the illusion of working alongside Scotland Yard. This is personal."

"Yeah, alright. I'll get right on it. Where's the fire place?" Harry took him into the living room and pointed to the fireplace. As he turned around he saw his godson with a camera taking pictures of the bathroom.

"What the hell is Teddy doing here?" he asked before Ron could stick his head in to call Kingsley.

"Why don't we talk about this when we get back to headquarters?"

"Why don't we talk about it now?" Harry countered.

Ron took a deep breath and prepared himself for a fight when he was suddenly caught off be a shrill shrieking voice.

"And just what do you think you're doing with my fireplace???" Petunia screamed. "Why are all these _freaks_ in my house. Get out of here Potter! I'm going to contact the authorities!"

Harry closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Aunt Petunia," he began. "We're professionals. If you would please sit down and shut up it would be greatly appreciated."

"I will _not _be spoken to that way in my own home!"

Harry turned around and came face to face with his aunt. "How about this Petunia. You will sit down and cooperate with this investigation or I will take you down to my office and detain you for obstruction of justice. Right now this is _not _your home. Right now this is a crime scene. So if you would kindly sit over there and be quiet we will carry on with our work. Lucy!" He said with a snap. In an instant Lucy Lemon was at his side. "I need to you sit down with my aunt Petunia and Lily and ask them the normal questions."

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

"Christian, I want you to scan the scene for any evidence. I want every hair in that place in a bag."

"It's a bathroom…." Christian muttered under his breath, knowing he would be in there all day levitating muggle pubes into a bag.

"Frank, I want you to write up a report.."

"Harry," a soft voice interrupted. Harry turned to meet the gaze of his wife.

"What is it, Gin?" he asked.

Ginny bit her lip, not wanting to but into an investigation that she had no real part it. But She couldn't help but think that the information she had was too important not to speak oh. "The necklace…that I made fun before. It's gone….she's not wearing it."

"…And put that in it," Harry said to Frank. "Gin, if you want to take Al and James home, that would probably be helpful."

"What about Lily?"

"Lily can't go home," Harry said. "She's a witness. She has to stay here and answer some questions."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "Is she going to have to testify in the wizenagameot later?"

Harry shook his head. "I dunno, Gin. It's quite possible. We'll talk about this when I get home, alright?"

"Alright," she said reluctantly before grabbing her sons and leaving the Dursley's home.

"Dudley," Harry asked. His cousin who had been leaning against the doorway starting at the people walking through his house walked over to him. "Are there any recent pictures you have of Marge? I need to see if I can find a picture of that necklace that's disappeared."

"Yeah," he said, walking over to the end table on the left side of the couch. He bent over and picked up a photo album that was placed on the bottom shelf. "I think she wore it to Melissa's confirmation," Dudley flipped through the pages of the book until he came upon the picture he was looking for. He took it out of its binding and handed it to Harry. Harry looked at it and nodded before handed it back.

"Would you mind making a copy of that for me?" Harry asked. Dudley nodded and made his way to the office upstairs that had at one time been Harry's bedroom. He turned to Ron. "You make those calls. I'm going to grab Randy and Travis and go to Marge's house to have a look around. Call my cell if my aunt gives you any more trouble. Although I have a feeling that if I leave she might actually calm down."

* * *

Lucy Lemon looked around the Durlsey house with disdain. It was quite honestly one of the most horrid places she had ever stepped foot in and as a law enforcement agent, she had been to a lot of less than seemly places. It reminded her of her grandmother Hughes' house, and her grandmother Hughes was an awful woman if she could speak candidly.

And after asking that woman questions for the past ten minutes she was quite positive that her resemblance to her grandmother Hughes was much more extensive than the matter of drapery preferences.

It was stuffy and cold in here. The décor was vile and stiff and lacked any semblance of homeliness or artistic flare. She might be biased, however, considering that she had grown up in a pretty arty household. It was no wonder Mr. Potter had been so reluctant to come back here. With as hard as he worked she was surprised he wasn't jumping at the chance to finally have the day off.

However, Harry Potter was a hard man to understand. He was one of the nicest men she had ever met in everyday life. He was always very kind to her and had a genuine concern for her life, yet he was also one of the toughest bosses she had ever had. He did _not _accept negligence and he had been known to put people's balls in a bind more than once over stupid mistakes. It was one reason why she was kind of freaking out about what she was doing now. If she scared Harry's baby girl in any way during this questioning she knew that he would be less than pleased with her.

"Hi there, Lily." Lucy said as she sat down on the couch next to the red-haired girl. She took out a notebook and a self-writing quill and Lily looked up at her nervously. "You rememember me right?

Lily nodded. Lucy smiled and sat in a comfortable position, hoping that maybe by loosening up she wouldn't be as nervous. Lily seemed to relax a bit and Lucy gave an inward cheer.

"I know you're a bit scared but there's no reason to be. I'm just going to ask you a few simple questions. It isn't a test. If you don't have an answer that's perfectly fine. Just tell me everything you can, alright?" Lily nodded.

"Did you see Ms. Dursley at all before her death?" Lily nodded again. "Can you describe her to me."

"Well….she was…large and wearing a horrid hat with a dead bird on it. And there was that ugly necklace that my Mum made fun of."

"Can you tell me what happened when you went to the bathroom?"

"Well I went there after I had tried to show James this creepy man that had been skulking about all day but he wasn't in the yard where I had seen him last so I decided to go to the bathroom and-"

"Can you describe the man to me, Lily?" Lucy asked.

Lily wrung her hands together. "He was tall. He was wearing all black. He had long dark hair and he was staring hatefully at everyone all day."

"Can you make a guess as to how old he was?"

Lily shrugged. "Maybe a bit older than my Uncle Bill."

"Did you see him holding a wand?" Lily shook her head. "Did he seem confused by any of appliances or social rituals?" She shook her head again.

"Alright, well, why don't you tell me what you saw in the hallway waiting to get into the bathroom then."

"Well, after James called me barmy I walked toward the bathroom. I knocked on the door and Marge said that she would be out shortly. I stood there for what seemed like forever. And then I heard a pop, and she started to scream but was cut off. And there was a flash of green light and a large thump. Great-aunt Petunia must have heard the thump cause she barged in to the bathroom and screamed, and that's when Daddy came."

"Is there anything else you think you should tell me?"

"I know that Uncle Dudley told me he didn't know who the strange man was when I asked him. But he just shrugged and said he didn't know a lot of these people and he was probably just someone that Great-uncle Vernon worked with."

Lucy smiled reassuringly at the young girl. "Alright, well that's all for now. If you remember anything else tell your Dad straightaway, yeah?" Lily nodded. "I'll go talk to your Uncle Ron and see if there's a way we can get you home now."

Lucy squeezed Lily's hand quickly before getting up and walking over to Ron who was now finished with his calls to Minister Shacklebolt. She bumped into Teddy on her way and squeaked before blushing and looking down at her shoes.

"Oh, sorry," they both said at the same time. They played a game of shuffle as they tried to move their way around each other. Teddy finally grabbed her shoulder and pushed her over to one side so that he could get around her. Lucy didn't know if she should be amused or embarrassed. Once she was back on her route she found Ron, talking to Christian as they preformed a series of scanning spells on the bathroom to see if they could find any magical traces.

"Mr. Weasley?" she asked. Ron looked at her with one eyebrow raised. Over the years she had come to understand that that was his way of asking 'what' without actually verbalizing it. "I've finished asking Lily questions and I thought she might be more comfortable at home rather than sitting here any longer."

"Yes, thank you, Lucy. Um, I'm sending Teddy back to headquarters to do some things. He might need some help. Why don't you go along and you guys can drop Lily off at Harry's before you go. You should be able to apparate just outside the house. But Teddy knows all this. He'll get you there."

"Right, okay." Lucy exhaled. When everything was sorted out and Teddy's hand slipped into hers to take her to the Potter's house her heart seemed to skip a beat. She swallowed and when they appeared on the Potter's doorstep she had a feeling that her nausea didn't have anything to do with apparition this time.

* * *

When Harry finally arrived home his nostrils were inundated with the savory smell of a roast cooking in the kitchen. It was times like this that he remembered how wonderful his wife was. A big roast was just what he needed tonight. He snuck his way into the kitchen and tiptoed up behind Ginny who was standing over the stove. There was an apron tied around her waist and her hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she jumped in surprise right before he placed a kiss on her neck.

"Smells delicious," he said.

Ginny smiled and turned her head to the kiss to give him a peck on the lips. "Thank you,"

"What's the occasion?" Harry asked, knowing that after twenty years of feeding him and their children it was very seldom that she took the time to make a legitimate homemade meal.

"Well it's been a bad day and I thought everyone could use a nice dinner."

"Well that's very nice," Harry said with a smile.

"Plus I invited Teddy over for dinner when he and that Lemon girl dropped off Lily this afternoon. I invited her over as well but she declined. I imagine she thought it might be a bit awkward."

"Yeah, Lucy's a bit shy," Harry said. "How's Lily?"

Ginny sighed. "Well she's still a bit shaken up." Harry nodded. "Will you do me a favor and set the table? Teddy should be here any second."

"Sure thing," Harry said as he swished his wand in the air and plates and silverware began to fly about the kitchen.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Lazy…" she murmured under her breath.

Once the table was magically set Ginny called James, Al, and Lily downstairs just in time for Teddy to arrive through the floo. Lily, still being a bit nervous due to the day's events had been following James around like a shadow all afternoon. But as soon as Teddy arrived she ran up to him and clung to him like a parasite.

"Hey, Lils," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Harry sent a grateful smile to his godson and slid past them to get to his spot at the time, brushing his hand across his daughter's head as he passed.

"Oh good Teddy's here," James said with a roll of his eyes. "Maybe she'll leave me in peace for two whole seconds."

"James!" Ginny yelled. "A _decent _brother would understand that his little sister is going through a hard time right now…"

"She could have hung out with me," Albus said quietly while he stirred the pot roast on his plate.

Ginny scoffed. "Oh and why would she want to do that, Albus Severus, after you've been acting like right little git all day?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, taking a bite of his potato.

"I don't think you should apologize to me. I think you should apologize to your father."

"Sorry, Dad." The second apology sounded even more miserable than the first.

Teddy just smiled, shook his head and helped himself to a giant bite of his dinner. Dinner with the Potters was always like watching some kind of sporting event. When kids were younger it was always a matter of who would be the most hyperactive and loud. Now, it was like a contest on who Ginny would yell at for being a git the most. Lily was rarely the one in trouble but Teddy had a feeling that now that she was getting older she would start getting a bit nastier as well. He didn't mind, though. He always found it rather amusing. Perhaps it was because he was the only child in his gran's house.

"So, Teddy…" Ginny started. "The obvious aside, how was your day?"

His heart skipped a beat and he took a sip of the wine that he had yet to touch. He cleared his throat and decided that lying to Ginny would not be a wise route to take. "It…kind of sucked actually."

"Really?" she asked. "Why…oh…." The answer dawned on her. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I forgot all about it. I knew I should have told you before that damned paper came out-"

"It's okay, Ginny," he said. "It wasn't all horrible. I got my first assignment today."

Harry cleared his throat. "About that..." he said wiping his mouth with his napkin and taking a pause from eating his dinner. "Tomorrow you're going back to the office. I don't think you should be worrying about this."

"What?" Teddy asked in astonishment. "But Ron…"

"Ron isn't your boss. I am."

"Technically Ron is my boss," Teddy countered.

"Well _I'm _Ron's boss. And I am telling you that I don't want you on this assignment," Harry said, taking on a hard edge to his voice.

Teddy scoffed and shook his head, scooting his chair slightly back from the table. "Well I can't say I'm surprised. You'd be happy if I rotted my life away doing bitch work until I die. Why don't I just quit and play guitar on the street for a living instead."

"That would be great!" Harry exclaimed, angry at his godson's insolence.

"You're unbelievable," Teddy said, getting up from the table and taking his plate to the sink. "I'm staying on this assignment whether you like it or not."

"Excuse me?" Harry said, standing up as well. The Potter children starting eating furiously and Ginny stopped, looking between the two of them as if she were a referee. "And just what do you think gives you the authority to disregard my demands?"

"Um…" Teddy said in faux thought. "The fact that you're _insane_!"

"Guys why don't you go upstairs," Ginny said to her children who looked as if they would like to disappear. The three of them slipped away quietly. James took his plate with him and grabbed two more rolls before leaving. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Teddy, you can't talk to me like that. You may be my godson but you _will _respect me as your boss or I _will _fire you," Harry said back.

"I'll start respecting you as a boss when you start respecting me as an average employee."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Harry yelled, his face going red.

"Harry, calm down," Ginny tried to interject. She looked between the two of them and knew that this was not going anywhere good. Harry had gone completely red in the face and crossed his arms over his chest. Teddy's hair was flashing between orange and red which she hadn't seen him do since the awful public fight that had ended his relationship with her niece.

"Why don't you just follow me around and cast a cushioning charm on everything I touch?" Teddy yelled.

"Do you think its _fun_ going out every night and getting shot at with all manner of spells? Because it's _not_. It's the furthest thing from fun there is."

"Well why do you do it then?"

"Because it's the only thing I'm _good_ at!" Harry responded. "You have no idea how psychologically damaging this job is and I'd like to keep it that way. You're too young! I promised myself I would do everything in my power to keep my kids innocent as long as humanly possible!"

"You're not my father!"

You could have heard a pin drop in the Potter kitchen. Harry looked at Teddy in shock. Ginny looked at Harry in sorrow. And Teddy looked at the floor in a paradoxical mixture of relief and regret.

"I'm going home," Teddy finally said, quietly. "Thanks for dinner, Ginny, it was delicious."

As he passed, Harry seemed to regain his grip on reality and yelled after him once again. "You wouldn't have a home if weren't for the checks that _I _sign every two weeks."

"I'll just have to move back in with Gran then, won't I?" Teddy opted to walk out the front door, knowing that it would make more of a point to slam that than a fist full of floo powder.

After he had apparated away, leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the kitchen, Ginny opened her mouth to try and say something soothing to her husband. However, Harry wasn't in the mood for words, which became increasingly obvious as he picked up a mug from the counter and threw it across the room. Ginny gasped in surprise as it shattered to pieces.

* * *

The leftovers from dinner were packed neatly away in the fridge. The kitchen table was clean. The dishes were all being washed in the sink. And Ginny had just finished up cleaning up the pieces of porcelain on the floor. Harry had insisted that he clean it up himself but Ginny told him not to. At times like this she liked to have something to keep her busy.

It was almost midnight now and she had spent the whole evening cleaning the house to try to get her mind off the events of the day. She not only had to deal with the fact that her thirteen year old daughter had witnessed the murder of a family member but also that Teddy and Harry had gotten into the worst fight they had ever had. Harry had yelled at him before growing up, but it was usually because he was just being a hormonal teenaged brat. After he had grown out of it Teddy was a dream. She had never imagined that something like this would happen.

Realizing she had nothing left to do, she wiped the sweat off her brow and headed up the stairs. Harry would probably be in bed by now, and if he wasn't sleeping he would probably be sulking the night away. Yet, when she walked past her daughter's room she was surprised to see him sitting in a chair by her bed watching her with his head in his hands.

"Harry?" she whispered as to not wake up Lily. He turned to her and smiled as she walked in. He patted his lap and Ginny sat down, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"She was having nightmares," he explained. "I told her I would sit here till she fell back asleep. She hasn't been this scared since she was six years old."

Ginny took a deep breath. "She'll be okay. At least the door was closed. She won't be seeing any thestrals next year."

Harry shook his head. "She heard a scream and saw a light. That's all it takes to haunt her dreams for the rest of her life." Ginny ran a calming hand through his hair. "All I've ever wanted to do was protect them. I didn't want them to have the life I had. No one should ever have the life I had. It isn't fair."

"You can't protect them from life, Harry," Ginny said. "It isn't all rainbows and sunshine. They have to learn that eventually."

"I just want them to be happy."

"They are happy. Lily is scared but she'll move on eventually and if she has a lot of problems we'll get her some therapy and everything will be fine."

"Yeah, okay," Harry said.

"And you need to let Teddy do his job. It's not fair that he has been working as hard as Lucy Lemon and she get promotion after promotion while he is stuck where he is because you don't want him to get hurt."

"I know," Harry said. "But I can't lose him, Gin. I lost Remus. I can't lose Teddy too. And now he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Ginny said. "Once he cools down everything will be fine, you'll see."

Harry nodded and Ginny stood up, holding out a hand for her husband to take. She pulled him up and started to drag him out of the room.

"Come, on.," she said. "Let's go to bed."

* * *

**TBC…**

Hope you guys liked it! Please review.


	3. Strange Awakenings

Sorry this took me so long to get up, guys. I had two papers to write this week so I have been scrambling to get work done. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I realized last time that I had my anonymous reviews blocked and I enabled them. So if you tried to review before and couldn't you can now.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter

**Chapter Three**

**Strange Awakenings**

Rose Weasley did not belong here. That was one fact that was fairly certain. She wasn't one of those girls, like the ones standing directly to her right in a tight huddle, staring at her through their heavily done eye make-up and holding shot glasses in their perfectly manicured fingers. She wasn't a party girl. She wasn't all that pretty – or at least she didn't try to be. She was just Rose and she felt awkward being in this huge house full of people that had always hated her at school.

The house itself was kind of terrifying – at least it was terrifying to her. It's not like it was Dracula's castle or anything. It was just _huge_ and everything about it dripped with money. Rose felt slightly uneasy on her feet, as if one wrong step could somehow destroy a ten thousand-galleon tile or something. She was currently standing in the middle of a ballroom – just the fact that she was in a house that _had _a ballroom was completely ridiculous to her. There seemed to be twenty-foot high ceilings. One wall was made completely of floor to ceiling windows with giant curtains that she thought would probably crush someone to death if they fell just from the sheer weight of the fabric. There was a giant crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and she didn't think she would ever be able to take her eyes off of it.

Her father would kill her if he knew she was here, and not just because she was too young to be at a party like this. This house was the one house that her father had ever literally banned her from walking into – not that he ever thought she actually would. Still the fact that she was not _allowed _to be here did not settle well in her stomach. There wasn't much about her current situation that did settle well in her stomach, and she had the hardest time remembering exactly why she was doing it.

She wasn't a rebellious type of person. Her parents had never driven her to any kind of rebellion. They were wonderful parents. Her dad had a bit of a temper sometimes and her Mum always pushed for excellence but she didn't mind. Rose strove for excellence to please herself, not her mum. And as angry as her dad got sometimes his temper wasn't half as bad as her uncle Harry's so she always considered herself and Hugo pretty lucky all things considered. She didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know how she had come to this point in her life.

"Hey, gorgeous," a smooth voice whispered in her ear. Rose gasped as she felt a pair of strong hands spin her around and suddenly a pair of lips were on hers and a tongue was in her mouth. She tensed for a second, taken by surprise but then relaxed and succumbed to the embrace. She felt stupid. _This _was why she was doing this. It had only been a week and she had forgotten. He was drunk, she could tell by the way he seemed slightly uneasy on his feet and the taste of Ogden's and some kind of cigar on his breath.

"Hi," she whispered as they broke away from the kiss. Scorpius leaned his forehead against hers and Rose realized she must have been insane not to be bothered by the smell of his breath. Perhaps it _did _bother her slightly, but the week she had gone without seeing him was far too long for her to care at his particular moment. She just had to be with him.

"When did you get here?" He asked.

Rose lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck. "Just now," she answered. "Where are your parents?"

Scorpius hummed in thought. "Dad's in New York I think. Mum is having a spa weekend with my aunt."

"You just got home!" Rose exclaimed. Scorpius shrugged.

"My Dad can't put his job on hold just because I got back from Hogwarts. Plus, Mum is here all year round with the little terror. She always needs a break."

Scorpius was referring to the surprise of the Malfoy family. Three years ago Astoria Malfoy had announced that she was once again pregnant, and, considering the fact that Scorpius was twelve years old at the time the gossip hit the wizarding world with a bang. Surely she wasn't planning on having another child so late. Of course, that line of thought brought about the rumors that Draco probably wasn't even the father. However, when that baby was born there was absolutely no doubt that she was a Malfoy.

It was then that Rose Weasley, along with several other people, began to see a glimpse of humanity of Scorpius Malfoy. He was always very cold and distant. Most assumed that he was just like his father- an arrogant, spoiled little bigot, but some saw the truth. Scorpius' cold demeanor was a defense mechanism. When so many people expect you to be something you tend to become exactly what they expect. So that is what he did. But when his family was once again put up on the whipping post his façade started to break a little.

"Terror?" Rose asked. "I thought you said she was adorable."

He nodded. "Yeah, that was back when she couldn't talk."

Rose bit her lip. She could understand the annoyance of having a younger sibling. Yet, there was a part of her that thought it would be a lot of fun if Hugo was three years old.  
"Can I meet her?" She asked.

"No," Scorpius answered.

Rose was slightly taken aback. "What? Why not?"

"Well first of all she is staying with my grandparents," Rose shuddered. "And second of all if you _did _meet her she would blab about the pretty girl with curly red hair that gave her a lolly."

"But I don't have any lollies."

"Well then she would blab about the pretty girl with curly red hair that plaited her hair."

"I don't know how to plait hair."

"You're impossible," Scorpius said with a smile as he shook his head in amusement. Rose smiled back and once again she found his lips pressed against hers. With a sudden dawn of realization she pushed him away and looked around the room filled with Syltherins.

"Should we be doing this here?" She asked in a slight panic. A Weasley kissing a Malfoy in public was probably not going to go unnoticed. Perhaps it was years of prejudice but Rose couldn't say that she trusted anyone in this room with a secret like this. If her parents ever found out about her relationship she didn't know what she would do. Her mother would probably just cry and her father would probably disown her.

"What? No one here is going to say anything. They all know anyway."

"Why do they know?!" Rose shrieked.

"Because I told them," Scorpius said as if it was obvious.

"You told them?"

"They're my friends. They aren't going to say anything," Scorpius said. "Besides if you're so worried about being seen with me then why did you even come in the first place?"

"Because I missed you…" Rose said shyly.

She could tell that Scorpius was getting angry with her. She was much more concerned about not being found out than he was. He claimed that if his parents found out his father would probably just scream at him a bit, sulk around for a few days, and eventually get over it. He probably wouldn't ever be very nice to Rose but he wouldn't _do _anything to either of them. His mother wouldn't care in the slightest. His grandfather, however, would probably try to go violent on him, but his father as upset as he may be at first wouldn't allow any harm to come to his son under any circumstances. Suffice to say Scorpius just wasn't all that concerned.

Rose, however, was. When Scorpius had told her all this she had bit back a remark that _her _grandfather had never tortured his mother or tried to kill her parents and her uncle. _Her _aunt had never killed anyone in his family. All in all, her family, enemies as they may be, hadn't committed the atrocities that the Malfoys had. And it wasn't fair that Scorpius failed to see that. He was so blinded by loyalty to his family that he failed to see what everyone else saw.

"Where do your parents think you are?" Scorpius asked, changing the subject.

"Molly Finnegan's," she said. "I told them she was having a movie night."

Scorpius smirked and kissed her again. As uncomfortable as she was with all these people knowing about them she couldn't do anything about it know. And she supposed he was right. If she was really concerned with his friends finding out she wouldn't be here. She could only pray that no one would say anything.

* * *

The Leaky Caldron hadn't been this busy in weeks. Hannah Longbottom had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that the school year was over. It was her observation that when the school year started her husband's alcohol intake spiked significantly. Therefore, she could only imagine that the exact opposite was the same for the parents whose children came back home at the end of the year.

Although, she wasn't as concerned with the negligent fathers as much as she was concerned with the two twenty-something's who had set themselves up at the right end of the bar for hours. Logan Samuels seemed perfectly content with his never ending supply of beer and the wireless radio broadcasting the Quiddich game. Teddy Lupin on the other hand, looked as if someone had cursed his brand new puppy. He had imbibed so much Ogden's that she was about to cut him off, even though he wasn't in the least bit belligerent. But she had a soft spot for the kid. Everyone she knew had a soft spot for Teddy Lupin. It wasn't fair that they were all blessed with presence of Remus in their lives when his own son wasn't. Yet, she didn't feel as if she really had a place to interfere. She wasn't that close to Remus or to Teddy. It was really more of a problem for Neville to deal with.

With a tap on her husband's shoulder she got his attention and with a cock of her head, she directed his attention to the melancholy youth who was currently swirling the ice cubes in his glass around in circles and staring at his work intently. Neville dropped the bar rag in his hand in the sink and grabbed a bottle of water. Walking over to Teddy, he leaned against the bar and poured his empty glass full of the non-alcoholic life educing liquid.

"That better be vodka, Longbottom," Teddy mumbled.

"Well you won't know until you drink it, will you?"

"Hey, I'm walking home, okay?" Teddy said. "It's right over there." He pointed to his left. "Or….there…" This time he pointed to his right. "Logan's gonna take me home."

"Well that makes me feel better," Neville said sarcastically, looking over at Logan Samuels who seemed to have his mouth glued to a bottle and his ear glued to the radio. "Why don't you let me call Harry and he'll come get you and take you home."

Teddy's eyes flashed red. "_Don't_ call Harry. I'm not spalking to him." Neville just nodded, assuming that 'spalking' was a meld of speaking and talking. "And _don't _call Vic either cause….she's getting _married._"

Neville nodded his head. "Yeah, I heard that,"

"Not to me though," Teddy said. "She didn't _want _ to marry me. She wants to marry some French dick. What was his name? What was his name?" Teddy snapped his fingers together as he tried to recall. "Oh! Guy Vermin. Oh wait wait wait. I'm sorry….Gii Vear-meh!"

"Sure…" Neville agreed idly,

"Why did you every get married, Neville? Isn't it awful. Women are _awful._"

"Well I don't know about that,"

"They are," Teddy said with a nod. "Lemon's not all that awful but she's like….a lesbian." He gasped and snapped his fingers in an epiphany. "I should turn _gay_. Logan will you marry me?" He placed a hand on his best friends shoulder to get his attention but Logan just brushed it off.

"Shut up, mate. I'm trying to listen to the _game_."

"See?" Teddy said. "He already acts like a husband."

Neville laughed and shook his head. He stood up straight, lifted the hinged doorway on the bar and slipped through. "Alright, come on," he said, catching Teddy as he tried to walk up the stairs to his and Hannah's apartment. Once they walked through the door Neville waved his wand in the air and the room was filled with light. He set Teddy down on the couch.

"Stay here," he said. "I'm going to get you some clothes to sleep in."

Teddy was perfectly content sitting on the couch in the Longbottom's living room. He had never been up here before and, even though Neville was more than a professor to him, it was really strange being in his professor's house. He couldn't help but run his eyes all over the room, taking in all the décor. There were plants everywhere and pictures all over the wall. Curious, he rose from the couch and looked through them. Most of them were of him and Hannah – their wedding, honeymoon, and all matter of things. The ones he was most interested in though were the older pictures. Even though he was pissed at Harry at the moment it was still funny to see him as a kid. It really was kind of frightening how much Al looked like him. He continued to scan through them until he froze at one particular picture. He was lost in it for so long that he failed to notice Neville walk up beside him.

"That was our third year," Neville said. "He was our-"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Teddy interrupted with a nod. "Yeah, I know."

Neville smiled. "He was a great teacher. The best I ever had I would reckon. He was able to get results out of the kids who seemed the most hopeless. He was a great man, your Dad."

Teddy nodded. "Yeah, I've heard." With that he grabbed the pajamas out of Neville's hands and stumbled toward the bathroom. "Thanks for letting me crash."

Neville watched Teddy hobble away and looked back sadly on the picture of his third year Gryffindor class with Remus. He smiled at the look of joy on Remus' face as he tousled Harry's hair. It was a rare thing to see Remus Lupin truly happy. The thing that scared Neville was the fact that he seemed to have passed on his proneness to depression to his only son.

* * *

Perhaps she was a little too arrogant for her own good, but Rose had always assumed that when she was drunk she would be able to have full control over her faculties and not become a stumbling, loud, idiotic mess like most people. Of course now she realized that she was completely wrong because she couldn't seem to manage walking in a straight line no matter how hard she tried and she found herself spitting out the most blunt and uncensored words that had ever come out of her mouth. And she said them to people she had hardly ever talked to in her life.

This was the first time she had ever been drunk in her life. The only time she had ever had a drink prior to this was the occasional glass of wine at her family Christmas party. She'd had enough to feel a sort of strange tingling in her face but she had never drunken so much that the room began to spin and she found herself becoming a completely different person. After all, she was a good girl.

She was the perfect daughter. She was just like her mother in everyway – shy, intelligent, motivated, extremely well mannered, and unwilling to risk success on frivolity. She was strong in her morals and her sense of integrity and she certainly wouldn't betray her loyalty to her family or friends for anything or anyone – not Rose Weasley. She was a good girl. Her loyalty to her family had never been more apparent as it was in that particular moment when her fingers feathered across the mantle place in front of which her mother was tortured for information.

"You shouldn't be standing in front of fires in your condition," Scorpius said from the parlor doorway, watching her with an amused grin on her face. "You'll fall in."

"You," Rose said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Shouldn't have fires going in unattended rooms. It's dangerous." Scorpius chuckled and shook his head. "What is this?" Rose asked, picking up a rather large abstract crystal that was lying on the mantle. "What the fuck is this? Why do you have it in your house? This place is ludicrous!"

Scorpius jumped toward her as she began to flail the expensive piece of art around in her hands, worrying that it could fall to the floor and shatter at any second. He took it out of her hand and placed it reverently back in its place.

"What is _that_?" Rose asked, pointing to a painting hanging on the other side of the wall. "Is that a Velasquez?!?!"

"A what?" Scorpius asked.

Rose shook her head. "Oh course its not. What am I thinking? The Malfoys would never own a piece of _muggle art. _It would be beneath them. Is it moving?" She asked, walking up to the painting and squinting at it. The portrait of the girl inside moved so subtly backward that Rose didn't notice in her inebriated state. She poked at it continuously.

"Would you kindly stop that?" The portrait shrieked. Scorpius walked behind her and pulled her away.

"Let's keep our hand off the expensive artifacts, please."

"We don't have any paintings in my house. Well…there is that painting that Hugo made when he was five for my Dad's birthday. It's of the Chudley Cannons winning the League Cup. It's really just a bunch of orange stick people with brooms holding a trophy."

"Well there's a fantasy best kept in the arts," Scorpius said as he tried to lead her back out into the party. "Why don't we save the tour of the house for another time and go back to the party?"

"No, I don't want to go back there," Rose complained. "Everyone is staring at me and being rude. Aren't you rich people supposed to be all mannerly and what not? Isn't it rude to be mean to people at parties?"

"I don't know where you heard that," Scorpius said. "I've not met a nice rich person in my life. _Especially _at parties. Parties are when they get even meaner."

"My Uncle Harry is nice," Rose said. She felt Scorpius hold on her stiffen slightly at the mention of her uncle. It seemed that anytime either one of them mentioned any one in their families the other would visibly tense.

"Well I've never met a nice rich socialite in my life," Scorpius said. "And you're Uncle Harry isn't that rich."

"Sure he is," Rose said. "He had a trust fund and everything. He's got plenty of money. He just doesn't spend it on giant crystal blobs for his mantle."

"Well what's the point of having it if you're not going to spend it?"

It was clear that their outlook on money was yet another thing that she and Scorpius did not have in common. She was raised in a frugal home. And, while she had never wanted for anything in her life, her parents raised her to have a great respect for money, having come two houses where they had to work for everything they had. Scorpius' view on money was the complete opposite. He disposed of it as if it meant absolutely nothing.

"Can we not talk about money, or our families, or our friends, or anything that reminds me that I am completely insane for being here right now?" She asked pleadingly.

Scorpius shrugged. "Well then I don't know what else to talk about."

"Well….let's not talk at all then." She grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down to her lips. Maybe she was too drunk to notice it happening but the next thing she knew he was lying on top of her on the couch in front of the fire trying to peel off her shirt.

"Someone could walk in…"

"Let's go up to my room then."

She went with him as he got up and took her hand, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why her only protest to the situation she was in was the fact that someone might see them. After all, Rose Weasley was a good girl.

* * *

As Teddy Lupin opened his eyes to face the morning a knife sliced through the top of his head and an invisible force grabbed hold of his eyeballs until they popped out of his skull. Yet, when he still found his vision to beginning to focus, he realized he might have been slightly embellishing. His eyes were still in his head and, as far as he knew there was no knife through his skull. Although, he hadn't looked in a mirror yet so he wasn't one hundred percent sure. Once the blinding white light in his eyes began to dissipate he was able to take in his surroundings. He was lying on a couch in the middle of a lying room that he did not recognize for the life of him.

"Where the hell am I?" he groaned as he forced his body in an upright position.

"Morning sunshine," A chipper female said from behind him. Teddy grabbed his head in pain both the volume and the tone of the words and his heart began pumping erratically at the fear that he might have gone home with some random slag last night.

"I made you breakfast," the voice said again. As the women drew near, Teddy's heart nearly fell out of his chest with relief at seeing it was Hannah Longbottom. He was not relived on the other hand with the greasy smell of bacon wafting from the tray in her hands and the sight of the gooey scrambled eggs on a plate.

With a sudden jerk her heaved forward, threw a hand over her mouth, and pushed Hannah out of the way, nearly knocking the plate over so that he could get to the restroom. Once inside, his head found the toilet and he proceeded to empty last's nights contents into is for the next five minutes. Once finished he rinsed out his mouth in the sink and splashed some cold water over his face. When he opened the door Hannah was waiting for him with a smirk, a vial of pepper-up potion, and the same plate that had cause him to be sick just a few moments ago.

"Eat," Hannah ordered. "You need something in your stomach or you'll just get sick all over again."

Teddy reluctantly stuffed his mouth full of the eggs. He took one bite of the bacon but the grease still proved too much for him to be able to handle at the moment. "Thanks," he said sheepishly.

"Well, you're quite welcome," Hannah answered. "Though I can safely say I never want to see you on my couch again. Now that I'm married a handsome younger man staying the night is just bad taste, you see."

"Was I really that bad?"

Hannah nodded. "Neville said he practically had to carry you up the stairs."

"Sorry."

"It's alright, but I think you best be on your way. It's almost nine."

"Shit!" Teddy exclaimed With a quick pop, Teddy transported himself back to his flat. He ran around frantically trying to get some clothes together and, realizing he had absolutely no time whatsoever so take a shower, he cast a scourgify charm on himself, got dressed, and flooed to work as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he fasted wasn't quite fast enough.

"Oi, Lupin," His heart rate went above normal for the second time and he turned around to find Christian Davis staring at him with a smirk and his arms crossed over his chest in some kind of gesture of superiority. "Boss wants to see you."

With that he was suddenly hit with a reminder of why he was even in this situation in the first place. No doubt Harry hadn't had his fill of yelling last night and wanted to slice into him even more the second he got into the office. The fact that he was a half and hour late would just add to the plethora of criticisms about to be thrown at him. With a deep breath he put one foot forward and he began the walk to his doom. When he reached Harry's door he sighed and tapped the door with two knuckles before letting himself in.

"You wanted to see me….Mr. Potter."

Harry looked up from his desk with a blank look and he continued to stare at Teddy for a long uncomfortable while. He bit his lip and nodded his head, probably formulating some non-verbal response to the sudden change in name and because of such, awkward did not begin to describe how Teddy felt under his gaze. Harry cleared his throat and went through the pretense of looking through some papers on his desk. Teddy covertly rolled his eyes and walked over toward his godfather. He shut the door behind him, and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"You're late," Harry said with a quick look at the clock. Teddy had to suppress another look of annoyance at the pretense that his boss had _just _realized that fact with a casual glance.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

Harry nodded. "Do you have any excuse?"

Teddy shrugged and shook his head. "Nothing good enough."

Harry nodded, yet again, and leaned back in his chair. He tapped his fingers on the desk and looked out the window, toward the door, and finally at his hands.

"Is that all you wanted?" Teddy asked.

"No," Harry said with a clear of his throat. He leaned forward again and placed his hands on his desk in determination. "I um….I wanted to tell you that I …" Harry said. "I'm…"

"You're what?" Teddy asked.

"I have an assignment for you…and Lemon." Harry said. He reached down and opened a large door on his desk, pulling out a piece of fabric and placing it in front of his godson. Teddy, however, was not amused. He was not amused at the fight they had gotten into the night before. He was not amused about he fact that it was impossible for Harry to utter an apology to him. And he was not amused about what was going down right now.

"You want us to do your dry cleaning?"

Harry sighed and pulled the glasses off his face to rub the bridge of his nose. "No I don't. I want you and Lemon to go on a stake out. Get under this and go sit at Number 5 Privet Drive for a couple of hours. Just keep your eye on the house."

"You're kidding me right?" Teddy asked.

Harry shrugged. "You said you wanted to be on the squad. Not everything about being out in the field is exciting."

"Lemon and I are supposed to hide under this thing together?" Teddy asked, picking up the cloak and holding it against himself. As he looked down his body completely vanished.

"Ron and I used to hide under it together all the time." Teddy quirked an eyebrow and Harry just closed his eyes and shook his head. "Just…don't."

"Well…thanks…I guess…" Teddy said.

Harry cleared his throat again. "Report back to me at five. Davis and Petrovich will take over after that."

* * *

Teddy Lupin was not the only one who awoke slightly disoriented on that particular morning. Rose Weasley was also a little worse for the wear when she came into consciousness. Her head had never felt so heavy in her life. Perhaps it had when she had the flu or a cold, but she had never felt like this without having some sort of sickness. She tried to remember what could have possibly happened the night before to make her feel this way but she couldn't recall much of anything. Although Rose knew that her lack of memory probably held the answer.

When she finally gained the courage to open her eyes, the light made her head feel even worse and without a moments hesitation she closed them immediately. She made a move to sandwich her head between the two pillows that she always slept on to find that her head was resting upon only one.

With a wave of panic she bolted upright. The blankets she had cocooned herself in fell to her waist and her naked breasts were suddenly exposed to the bitter cold room which she instantly recognized to _not _be hers. She covered herself back up, the hand holding the blanket against her resting on her rapidly beating heart. A moan from her left caught her attention and she looked down on the bed to see Scorpius lying next to her, the bed sheet lying low across his hips. The realization of what occurred last night came to her and an all-encompassing horror rocked her to her core.

The high sun beaming through the window did not appease her either. It gave the indication that it was far too late in the afternoon. She had never meant to sleep here, and certainly if she had fallen asleep she would have needed to be home before her parents awoke.

She had enveloped herself in a situation in which she had nowhere to turn. She couldn't stay here and face Scorpius after what had happened between them the night before – brief flashes of memory were starting to come back to her. She couldn't go home and face her parents. They would surely kill her the moment they came home. Seeing no other option, she flung herself from the bed, taking the sheet with her and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her. She would just have to stay there until she died.

The aggressive movement next to him along with the violent slamming of the door shook Scorpius from his sleep immediately. With a groan, he pushed himself up and rubbed his hands over his face before climbing out of bed. He pulled on a pair of boxers and walked to the bathroom door. He lifted his knuckles gently tapped the surface.

"Rose?" he asked with a sigh. "Are you sick?"

Rose was silent as she lay wrapped in her bed sheet cocoon inside the enormous marble bath. By that time tears were streaming down her face at a heavy and constant rate and her breathing had turned completely erratic. Hearing Scorpius' voice was no longer a comfort to her and she suddenly found it terrifying.

"Leave me alone," she wailed. "Don't talk to me." She wrapped the blanket even tighter around herself. She wanted her skin to feel as confined as possible. She felt dirty and used.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to mention it ever again," she said. She buried her head in her knees and wrapped herself into a tight ball.

"Well you can't just ignore the fact that it happened forever," Scorpius said, slightly annoyed. Rose just started to cry louder.

"Why do you have to be so fucking _mean _all the time. Can't you tell that I'm hurting? You don't have to _yell _at me!"

Scorpius took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. "I'm not yelling at you."

"Yes you are!"

With a sigh Scorpius took a moment to compose himself before responding. He tried to recall how his father usually dealt with his mother when she was being crazy and realized that he had no choice but to take the fall should he wish to calm her down. "I'm sorry I yelled." He heard Rose sniff behind the door. "And I'm sorry if you think that I took advantage of you last night but I didn't mean to."

Rose was silent for a few moments as she thought about what Scorpius said. She had never meant for him to think that she blamed him for what happened. They were both a little too drunk to make a choice like this last night. It wasn't entirely his fault.

"I wasn't ready," Rose said, significantly calmer than she had been a moment ago. "I don't want to do it again for a long time."

"That's-"

"Scorpius!" A bellow sounded through the house.

"Shit!" Rose heard Scorpius exclaim. Her heart began to beat so rapidly that she could hear the thumping in her ears. Her face flashed read and became to hot that her forehead started to perspire. As she heard the bedroom door open she buried herself in the bathtub even further. Tears of sheer terror began to run down her checks and even the giggles of whom she assumed to be Scorpius' little sister didn't lighten her spirits. She was going to be murdered if she was found or crucioed in the same room as her mother.

"Scorpy!" Calypso Malfoy laughed as she ran into her brother's room. "Grampy is _mad_ at you."

In a mad rush, Scorpius ran around his room, picking up every bit of feminine clothing he could get his hands on and stuffing them under the bed. He grabbed his little sister roughly by the shoulders and didn't loosen his grip as tears began to fill her eyes.

"If you say a word about what I just did I _will _kill you in the most slow and painful way imaginable. Do you understand me?"

"Scorpius!" His grandfather bellowed again, this time walking into the room. Lucius Malfoy looked upon the room of his only grandson with a sneer as he took in its messy and unkempt state. His sneer didn't dissipate as he looked upon his grandson standing in the middle of the room, manhandling his sister, and wearing nothing but his underwear.

Embarrassed, Scorpius reached for the dressing room hanging on his bathroom door and wrapped it around himself.

Lucius took another slow step using his walking stick to pick up his discarded shirt from last night. He tossed it to the side and turned his attention back on the boy in front of him. Scorpius gulped in intimidation.

"Would you care to explain to me why the home that has been in this family for generations looks as if a pack of wild centaurs have run through it set on destroying everything in their path?"

"I…"

"Need I remind you, Scorpius, that I am the last person you should wish to lie to. Your father may be as lenient with you as he wishes, but your father isn't here at the moment."

"I'm sorry, Grandfather," Scorpius said. "I'll clean it up."

"Yes, you will," Lucius said. "And I will be here watching you until you're finished." With an ungraceful shove, Lucius pushed Scorpius out the door, leaving Rose completely alone in the bathroom.

She couldn't leave now. It would take hours for Scorpius to single handedly clean every inch of this enormous house after the party they had last night. She was trapped in her boyfriend's bathroom until his grandfather left.

* * *

"What is wrong with you?" Lucy Lemon asked as she munched on another mini pretzel from the bag at her feet. Teddy, who had been rubbing his face with his hands, looked over at her in question as his red eyes peeked at her through is fingertips. "You look awful," she explained. "And you don't smell all that great either."

"Oh…" Teddy said bashfully. "Sorry. I'm just a bit hungover. I spent the night at my old herbology professors flat last night."

"You spent the night at Professor Longbottom's?" Lucy asked. Teddy looked at her in confusion until he remember that she had gone to Hogwarts with him as well. He seemed to always forget that'd he'd been in class with her before had gone through auror training together. Perhaps it was because she was a Hufflepuff and all his friends were in either Gryffindor or his own house, Ravenclaw. Plus Lucy was extremely shy in school. She was shy now and Teddy was of the opinion that she had really come out of her shell.

"Um….yeah….my best mate Logan and I went to The Leaky last night. I was a bit worse for the wear I guess. The last thing I remember was the Cannons actually getting fifty points and the next thing I knew I was waking up on Hannah and Neville's couch and running to the bathroom to vomit."

Lucy looked shyly down at the bag between them. "Well….would you like a pretzel?"

Teddy quirked an eyebrow. "Um….no thanks I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Cause…pretzels are supposed to be good for hangovers. Something about the salt I guess…" Lucy said, grabbing one of the snacks out of the back and breaking it between her fingers.

"Really, I'm okay." Teddy reassured.

Lucy shrugged and munched away at yet another pretzel and Teddy couldn't help but sit there and observe her. He knew that he should really be observing the house across the street but if he had to stare at that ugly blob of brown brick for one more second his head would probably explode. They had been here all day. Most of the time had been spent in silence and his arse hurt so much that it was beginning to go numb.

Lucy looked even worse than she usually did. At least every other time he had seen her she had been _trying _to look somewhat presentable. Today she was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a baggy hooded sweatshirt. Her hair was once again thrown haphazardly into a bun. He knew why of course. At this point in the day he wished he had been wearing sweats as well. At least she was somewhat comfortable. Teddy was overcome with claustrophobia under this damn cloak.

They had made a kind of make shift tent against the front of the house across the street so they at least had something to lean against and the fabric wasn't just draping over their heads for hours. Teddy still thought that this was some kind of sick joke on Harry's part though. They barely had room to stretch their feet out. Though Lemon seemed to be perfectly content with her pretzels and her muggle binoculars.

After staring through them for ten more minutes, Lucy set them down on the ground, popped her neck, and reached around back to let her hair lose from its bun. She ran her fingers through her hair, scratching her scalp and then shook her head. Teddy stared at her as she did this. He had never seen her hair free of its confines before. It was longer than he expected it to be and it was really curly, rather like Hermione's. It was kind of nice actually. He reached down to the ground and sneakily grabbed the ponytail holder that she had placed there. Lucy ran her fingers through her hair one last time and gathered it all together. She dropped it, though, when she couldn't find anything to bind it.

"Where's my pony-tail holder?" she asked, patting the ground beside her.

Teddy shrugged. "How should I know?"

With a dramatic sigh Lucy gave up her search and her hair dropped to her shoulders. "I guess the beast will run free for the day."

Teddy smirked. "Beast?"

"Oh.." Lucy said with a blush. "Yeah… My sister got the good hair I guess."

"You have a sister?" Lucy nodded. "Did she go to Hogwarts?"

"Oh, no….um….she's a muggle," Lucy explained. "She's a year and a half older than me. She got everything good: the hair, the looks, the talent."

Teddy was confused. "I'd say magic is a pretty big talent."

"No…" Lucy argued. "I mean she can like…sing and dance and stuff."

"Well plenty of people can do that," Teddy countered.

"She's playing Cosette in the West End revival of Les Miserables."

"Oh…." Teddy said. "So she can like….sing."

"Exactly," Lucy said, grabbing another pretzel from the bag.

"That book always kind of bothered me," Teddy said with a shrug.

"Why?"

"Because…I dunno. Marius was just stupid. He had this totally amazing girl that was completely in love with him and he barely knew she existed. He just used her to get to the girl he really cared about. And I mean really…._why _would he care about Cosette? She's kind of boring isn't she? It was a classic case of Romeo-syndrome. Eponine was awesome. She died for him. Cosette probably would have died if a drop of blood graced her petticoat. The rest of it was fine I suppose. It was just that Marius was supposed to be the most relatable character to me when I read it and he just annoyed the crap out of me. Also I think Hugo needed to take a class from Hemmingway."

"Why didn't you study literature?" Lucy asked. "You were always reading at Hogwarts. Everyone thought you would become this famous author or something."

Teddy shrugged. "My mum was an auror….my dad was….well he probably would have been an auror if they'd let him." he said as if it explained it.

Lucy nodded, not entirely satisfied with his answer. She watched Teddy for a moment as he uncomfortably picked at some of the grass beneath them. Thinking she had to get back to work, she picked up the binoculars again and looked through them at the same spot.

"What do you make of that black cat?" she asked, sneaking her hand back into the pretzel bag.

"Its….cute?" Teddy said, confused.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Its been walking around the house in circles all day. It's not really normal cat behavior."

"Maybe she feeds it," Teddy suggested.

Lucy shook her head. "Harry's aunt doesn't seem the type to take pity upon stray animals. I don't think that we're the only ones who decided to have a stake-out today."

"What you think it's a wizard or something? Teddy asked.

"I think it's highly possible."

"We could get back to headquarters and check the animagus list," Teddy suggested, checking his watch. Their shift almost over as it was.

"I have a feeling that if that cat is a wizard he didn't bother to register on an animagus list. It might work on our favor in the end though. Its just more charges to add to the list."

Lucy started to gather up her things and Teddy held in a laugh as she tried and failed to quietly roll up the bag of pretzels at her feet. Once they had everything in order they counted to three and aparrrated together back to headquarters. Unfortunately, when they arrived they weren't welcomed with the indifference they expected.

"Oi!" Ron yelled as he walked past them reorienting themselves. "Just what the bloody hell do you think you two are doing just standing there! I don't pay you stand around this office like bloody idiots! I pay you to work!"

Without another word Ron stormed back into his office. Teddy and Lucy stood there frozen for a second and looked around the office as it was bustling with an energy they hadn't quite seen before. Teddy tried to remember if Ron had been acting psychotic this morning as well but he couldn't remember seeing him. Harry, having seen the exchange gestured the pair of them to come into his office.

"We…um…have somewhat of a lead…" Lucy said nervously. "There was a strange cat hanging about all day that we thought might be an animagus…"

Harry could sense the nervousness in her tone. "That's great, thanks Lucy. Don't worry about Ron he's a bit crazy right now."

"Why? What's going on?" Teddy asked. Harry took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses before answering.

"Rosie didn't come home last night."

* * *

**TBC...**

I hope you guys liked it! Please review.


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